There are many growth factors with different roles in the human body that help in cell growth, repair, and healing. The human nerve growth factor, in particular, is responsible for the regulation, development, and survival of sensory neurons that transmit different sensations such as pain, heat, and touch. While naturally occurring in the body, an increase in nerve growth factors has been shown to have a slew of benefits to cognitive functions particularly in treating neurodegenerative diseases.
So how do you increase the concentration of nerve growth factors in your body? There are multiple ways to increase the amount of nerve growth factors through diet, supplements, and medical injection procedures that boost natural production or physically add nerve growth factors to your body. If you are looking to increase nerve growth factors in your body, it’s recommended that you ask your healthcare provider which option may be suitable for your lifestyle to ensure your safety and health.
How to Increase Nerve Growth Factor
The nerve growth factors are naturally made and regulated by the body with its primary production found in the cortex, hippocampus, and pituitary gland though they can be produced in other places including the spinal cord as well.
While your body should be able to create enough cortical neurons and nerve growth factors to function, there are some cases wherein a boost in nerve growth factor concentration could be beneficial to your body’s sensory and cognitive function.
Little research has been done on any topical treatment for increasing nerve growth factors but oral supplements have been shown to boost nerve growth factors effectively. Here are some of the ways you can increase nerve growth factors in your body:
1) Dietary Supplements
Perhaps one of the more convenient ways to boost nerve growth factors in your blood flow is through supplements as they can be easily integrated into any lifestyle. While supplements cannot encapsulate the nerve growth factors and directly increase their levels in your body, they can induce and stimulate its production.
There have been several studies done on different supplements with a handful proving to be quite useful in their role of nerve growth and creating never growing factors. On the other hand, while gaining popularity DHEA supplements and other supplements need more research to definitively link their efficacy in boosting neurotrophic factors.
Here are some of the supplements that have been tested and proven to boost nerve growth factors:
a. Lion’s Mane Supplements
Lion’s mane supplements are derived from a mushroom fungus that is quite popular in different parts of Asia and is slowly becoming more popular in the global medical field. According to studies, lion’s mane can effectively increase the nerve growth factor as well as hericenones and erinacines all of which benefit the body’s growth and healing process. With the properties found in its extract, lion’s mane has been shown to help with axonal growth which can help treat injuries to the nervous system.
b. Vitamin D3 Supplements
With normal sugar blood levels, Vitamin D3 has been shown to boost the nerve growth factors found in the body. According to a study done back in 2014, Vitamin D3 can aid in the synthesis of the nerve growth factor during their test with primary cultures of hippocampal neurons.
While vitamin D3 can boost NFG, there are some scenarios wherein immune cells particularly when you have high blood sugar levels that vitamin B3 may not be as efficient in synthesizing nerve growth factor.
c. Zinc and Vitamin A Supplements
While Zinc and Vitamin A taken as individual supplements have not yet been proven to boost nerve growth factor, taking them together has been shown to improve nerve growth factor levels. This is because zinc and vitamin A promote the production of acidic proteins and promote acidic pH levels that boost nerve growth factor and benefit cognitive function and memory.
d. Pyrroloquinoline Quinone Supplements (PQQ)
Pyrroloquinoline quinone is a powerful antioxidant that has been shown to stimulate nerve growth factors when taken through a supplement. In particular, PQQ is beneficial to patients with peripheral neuropathy as it boosts the regeneration of peripheral nerves.
2) Nerve Growth Factor Injections
Injecting growth factors to boost its concentration and aid the healing process has been a common medical practice for many years now. This procedure can be done for multiple types of growth factors including the nerve growth factor.
A group of researchers back in 2003 tried injecting a concentrate of nerve growth factor into mast cells and the masseter muscle and found them to be effective in helping different sensory functions like feeling pain.
In the same study, nerve growth factor injections that were injected into mast cells were also shown to be effective for at least 7 days though long-term effects have not yet been studied.
3) Dietary Habits to Boost Nerve Growth Factors
Like supplements, eating certain foods may not directly increase the concentration of the human nerve growth factor in your body but it can help boost its natural production. Here are some things to include in your diet to boost nerve growth factors
a. Rosemary and Rosemary Extract
Eating rosemary or adding rosemary extract to your diet has been shown to boost nerve growth factor concentrations in your body. This is due to the fact that Rosemary has an acidic protein called carnosic acid that when absorbed into your blood vessels and bloodstream will signal your body to produce more nerve growth factors.
b. Lion’s Mane Mushrooms
Like the supplement, eating lion’s mane mushrooms can induce the natural production of nerve growth factor in your body. Additionally, eating the mushroom directly will still provide your body with hericenones and erinacines aiding in the body’s natural healing process and in maintaining sensory neurons. Though possibly not as potent as the extract will still help injuries related to peripheral neuropathy and regenerate sensory neurons.
c. Plant-Derived Honey
While not all types of honey can boost nerve growth factor production, there are some proven cases wherein honey has boosted nerve growth factor concentrations. Though honey from bees is the most commonly found type, only certain types of plant-derived honey that have chrysin will affect the synthesis of nerve growth factors
While these three foods have been shown to boost nerve growth factors in your body, the most important thing for nerve growth factor synthesis and production in your body is a balanced diet. Having a variety of proteins, fats, carbs, and vitamins will all increase your nerve growth factor levels and boost cognitive functions.
Limited caloric diets can lead to low nerve growth factor concentrations and severe damage to your nervous system including cholinergic function and sensory neurons. If you’re considering going on a diet or adding new foods to boost nerve growth factor in your body, please consult a registered dietitian or healthcare provider to ensure you are meeting all daily requirements.
Benefits of Increasing Nerve Growth Factors
Increasing the concentration of neurotrophic factors like the nerve growth factor in your body can have many benefits to your health and disease control. Here are some of the benefits of increasing nerve growth factors concentrations:
1) Brain Function Benefits
Nerve growth factors can help with brain power as it aids in the development of nerves cells and connection in the brain. With additional nerve growth factors available more connections can be made resulting in improved cognitive intact brain functions. This means with an increase of nerve growth factors you may notice that you have better memory and focus.
2) Antidepressant Function
Depression is a mental disorder that is caused by chemical imbalances found in the body. While further studies need to be conducted, it has been found that having higher levels of nerve growth factors in one’s blood flow can help lower major depressive disorder.
With this, it may be possible to use nerve growth factor supplements as an antidepressant medication. If you are on antidepressants or are looking for a prescription, don’t just self-prescribe nerve growth factor supplements as they can lead to complications.
Please seek the help of a licensed psychiatrist before using nerve growth factors as an antidepressant.
3) Reducing the Risk of Dementia and Alzheimer’s
With over 55 million people living with Alzheimer’s, the risk of dementia remains prevalent. This is why the medical field has been racing to find a cure for neurodegenerative disease. In multiple studies, it has been shown that while an increase of nerve growth factors will not cure the disease it can restore and improve some cognitive function in patients.
In this case, the administration of nerve growth factor genes is transferred to dementia patients and boosts brain tissue growth. In addition to brain tissue growth, an increase of nerve growth factors can also boost cortical neurons, cholinergic neurons, and other factors that contribute to brain function and brain power.
Possible Side Effect of Overproduction or Overconsumption
While there are many benefits to boosting growth factors in your body, having too much of a concentration can also lead to major side effects and diseases. With nerve growth factors responsible for sensory function and connected to brain power, having too much of it can lead to overstimulation and inflammation.
This will damage your neurotrophin receptor which will lead to brain damage or other complications. Here are just some of the possible complications you may experience due to the overproduction of nerve growth factors:
1) Increased Chronic Pain
Studies have found that people who suffer from chronic pain diseases have an increased level of nerve growth factors in their system making them unable to properly regulate sensory responses and reactions.
By trying to increase your nerve growth factor concentration without any specific need, you run the risk of having chronic pain symptoms which include severe injury pain and inflammation. While the nerve growth factors don’t directly cause the inflammation, it will cause parts of your body to be inflamed as a way for your immune cells to fight the injury or infection.
2) Autoimmune Diseases
Autoimmune diseases occur when your body mistakenly identifies things in your body as a threat and attacks itself. In the case of these types of diseases, an overproduction of nerve growth factors can affect your nervous system as well as the immune and hormonal system and lead to further damage.
In most cases, your doctor will actually prescribe medication or an anti-NGF treatment that will lower the production of nerve growth factors in your body as a way to control your illness.
3) Cancer Progression
While nerve growth factors can aid in the repairs and healing by inducing the active form of cell reproduction in the body, having too much nerve growth factor can also cause cancer cells to multiply.
This could lead to patients’ cancers progressing faster than necessary and makes it harder to treat effectively as the cancer cells are more likely to regenerate. It’s also possible that with the rapid cell growth, new blood vessels will form in cancer tumors making them harder to remove.
4) Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia is a brain disorder that has been recently linked to the protein expression of nerve growth factor. While nerve growth factor can help other brain disorders like Alzheimer’s and dementia, studies have shown it can be a factor in developing schizophrenia due to the change in blood levels caused by nerve growth factor.
Get Quality Medical Tools and Supplies at FACE Med Store
While there’s a fine balance when it comes to stimulating and supplementing nerve growth factors concentrations in your body, it’s important to choose the correct dosage and treatment type to ensure the patient’s health. To do this safely, tests and procedures will need to be done accurately to properly prescribe nerve growth factors inducers. Without proper tools and supplies, this may be quite difficult to do accurately.
At FACE Med Store, we understand the importance and effect quality tools and supplies can have, especially in the medical field. That’s why we offer the best medical devices and equipment at affordable prices to all our clients across the country. If you’re in search of a particular device or tool, contact us today to see our stock list and purchase today.
